Picturesque New Zealand
The Maori name for the country is ‘New Zealand Aotearoa’ which translated means ‘New Zealand, The Land of the Long White Cloud’.
New Zealand comprises of two large islands, namely North Island and South Island, and a number of smaller islands (including Stewart Island/Rakiura and Chatham Islands).
New Zealand is a very picturesque country in fact 30% of the country is made up of forests.
For the nature lover apart from the breath taking landscape, the gushing rivers and the silent volcanoes, New Zealand is also home to the largest flightless parrot (kakapo), oldest reptile (tuatara), biggest earthworms, smallest bats, heaviest insect (a weta), some of the oldest trees and many rarest species birds, insects, and plants, in the world.
New Zealand is one of the top five dairy exporters in the world producing 100 kg of butter and 65 kg of cheese each year for each person who lives in the country.
A car crazy nation New Zealand has 2.5 million cars for four million people one of the world’s highest car ownership rates.
Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Mt Everest, was a citizen of New Zealand.
New Zealand also has the distinction as the place where Bungee jumping was invented.
The City of Dunedin is home to New Zealand’s oldest university, first newspaper and first botanic gardens.
18% of New Zealand’s export earnings and 9% of its economy by GDP are tourism dependant. Tourism accounts for more than 10% of the employment.
Among the car hire companies available are Thrifty, Budget, Avis, Europcar and Hertz.